President Joe Biden’s State Department has plans to announce a Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice later this month, according to an email obtained by the Daily Caller.
The Special Representative position is being established as part of the department’s Equity Action Plan, which was first introduced in April. While the Special Representative has not yet been named, he or she will be required to “institutionalize an enterprise-wide approach to integrating racial and ethnic equity.”
The email states that “advancing equity, addressing systemic racism, and strengthening democracy worldwide” are “national security imperatives and core tenets of President Biden’s foreign policy.”
The Special Representative will also promote “systems of inclusion that mitigate bias, discrimination, and violence” and foster “more inclusive societies.”
The email states that the position will also be responsible for “countering disinformation and societal violence aimed at… marginalized racial and ethnic communities.”
The Equity Action Plan is part of Biden’s Executive Order (E.O.) 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, which he signed on his first day in office last year. According to the plan, the Biden administration believes that “inequity is a national security challenge with global consequences.”
“The State Department will embed intersectional equity principles into diversifying public diplomacy and communications strategies and expand recruitment for programming and exchange opportunities to focus on underserved communities,” the plan states.
“The State Department will also increase inclusive, equitable messaging to combat disinformation, which can sow discord among communities and undermine democratic norms,” it continues. “Using equity assessment tools to track progress, the State Department will build global support for the advancement of racial equity and support for underserved communities through partnerships and public diplomacy.”
Last June, Biden signed another executive order called “Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Government.”
The order directed all federal agencies to “expand the availability of DEIA [diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility] trainings for their workforce, so that Federal employees are supported in building skillsets to promote respectful and inclusive workplaces and have increased understanding of implicit and unconscious bias.”
“The initiative will advance opportunity for communities that have historically faced employment discrimination and professional barriers, including: people of color; women; first-generation professionals and immigrants; individuals with disabilities; LGBTQ+ individuals; Americans who live in rural areas; older Americans who face age discrimination when seeking employment; parents and caregivers who face employment barriers; people of faith who require religious accommodations at work; individuals who were formerly incarcerated; and veterans and military spouses,” the order said.
